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her will to escape him outweighed that pain. She must find her way back to Lone Wolf, her mind told her.
"I will not stay with you anymore. You are mean, and cruel and have no feelings for me. I am your slave when I am there. I will no longer be…" she ran again, her tears streaming down her face, and he struck out again, hitting her in the middle of her back. This time the pain was like a burning knife that split her into. She buckled from the intense feeling of failure.
She could not fail, she could not disappoint Lone Wolf.
Her hands went out but not fast enough, she fell into the dirt, feeling the grit in her teeth, she spat. Her head was pounding, her heart drumming, but she kept seeing Lone Wolf in her mind. She had to fight this, she had to win. No matter the pain. She had to put it out of her head and go on.
The sting was harsh, and brutal. This time she struggled to get up. But she managed, as he stood there staring at her. She kept her mind from her pain and did her best to stand, putting the face of Lone Wolf in her mind, she was determined to move.
She managed to get to her feet once more, the pain in her back was excruciating as she moved about, but she stood and straighten herself and began to walk away. "I will not return with you, Liam…" she shouted and ran again. Her steps faltered several times, but she kept running. She ran away from the camp, so as not to lead him to Lone Wolf, for she feared Liam might kill him.
She was so close to becoming Lone Wolf's wife, she could not let Liam win this. She had to fight back. She had to be strong. She kept Lone Wolf in her head, as it led her onward.
This time the whip came harder, the sound louder, and she felt the skin tear on her back and the blood splattered. Her back was raw with excruciating sensations going up and down her back, the sting of leather cut through her deeply. She'd been beaten many times with the whip, and survived, she told herself. She could do it again, she was Indian now, and much stronger.
Falling to the ground and she could no longer stand, so she crawled. Inch by inch, she moved, determined to get away from the violent man once and for all. She would eat dirt and die if she had to, but she would not return with Liam.
"You gonna give up woman, or am I gonna have to kill you?" Liam shouted.
"Kill me, I'd rather die than be your wife again!" she proclaimed. Her nails dug into the earth as she tried once again to get to her feet, but the pain and the fierce blade of the whip was winning now. She fought for her life and concentrated on getting away from Liam. She knew he might kill her, but death was a welcome reprieve from Liam. She could not go back with him. She could not keep enduring his cruelty. Better to die here, in this land she had learned to love, then to go back and slave for the man she detested.
He watched her struggle and laughed.
His laugh made her stronger, and she kept going, but it was no use. She heard his footstep approaching and she tried her best to scramble away from him.
"Aw… hell," Liam shouted. He walked over to her pitiful body and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her. "You damned white Indian, I'll teach you to run from me." He declared. "You are gonna be sorry you were ever born."
Hannah's tears flowed as the pain hit her hard and she finally blacked out, her last thoughts of Lone Wolf. She must find her way back to Lone Wolf, somehow!
~~***~~
Lone Wolf came to Deer Runner's tipi, he peaked inside, "Have you seen Hannah?" He asked Black Feather.
"N-no, she should be back by now." Black Feather scrambled to her feet and came to stand just outside the tipi. "She went to pick berries for our pie." She told him, "up on the hill.
Lone Wolf frowned, "Up on the hill?"
"Yes."
"I will go find her." Lone Wolf told her.
Black Feather frowned, knowing she'd been gone way too long. When Deer Runner returned to the tipi she told him that Lone Wolf had gone to find Hannah at the berry patch.
"Has she been gone long?"
"Yes, all afternoon," Black Feather told him her fear building as they spoke. "I fear something has happened to her."
"I will go and help…"
Black Feather nodded and watched him head for the hill.
Lone Wolf was studying the ground now, he found the basket of berries on the ground, spilled. He saw the struggle she made on the ground too. Someone had accosted her, he followed the struggle signs and saw blood and his heart pounded with fury. His soul cried out for her, as his temper burned within him.
Deer Runner came, "You did not find her?"
Lone Wolf almost shook with fury. "She's been taken…" Lone Wolf cried out.
"Taken?"
